Viral Marketing...is not a disease.

Viral marketing does not exactly sound like something pleasant. It sounds like some disease or ailment and not a successful marketing scheme. It is however becoming the new trend in advertising and marketing. So if it is not an illness, what does it mean?

Viral marketing is basically any type of advertising or promotion that encourages people to spread around to their friends through social media networks or by word of mouth.

Viral marketing is great for companies and consumers because it is something that benefits the client or consumer and promotes the company at the same time. Consumers do not feel like they are being told what to buy or like, but instead become interested in the campaign and in turn promote the product or service.

Many companies are using viral marketing to reach consumers because of its proven success. I saw this recently on an episode of the Apprentice. The task for the two teams on the show was to come up with a commercial for All Small & Mighty detergent that would be edgy and popular enough to be spread around the internet.

The teams both presented pretty controversial ads. One featured an adulterous Clint Black and the other a team of midgets scrubbing Jesse James.



I didn’t find either commercial particularly funny and the client agreed. While the attempts at viral marketing were racy, they were not true to the product or the demographic (housewives and soccer moms). Ultimately neither commercial was chosen.

This proves that viral marketing can be a tricky thing, and does not work well for all products. Moms who use All detergent are not checking YouTube everyday for the funniest new videos. They may not be able to come up with a successful viral marketing campaign for them.

Some products and companies lend themselves very well to viral marketing though. My absolute all time favorite YouTube video is actually an ad for Starburst.



The ad is funny and quirky enough that it catches people’s attention and makes you want to pass it along to your friends. This promotes the product in a positive light because people associate the product with having a good time, and it gets the company or product’s name out to more people.

The best viral marketing campaigns utilize a number of resources that consumers already use. If a company can attach an online game, free prizes, or even go so far as making a TV show from an ad they will have a successful viral marketing campaign.

A great example of this is Burger King’s Subservient Chicken. The ad, which promoted the TenderCrisp Chicken Sandwich, developed a following because of its catchy jingle and interesting concept. It even encouraged people to go online and watch an actual person in a chicken outfit perform commands.





This campaign went on for three years and definitely propelled the image of Burger King as a creative advertiser.

Viral marketing is an excellent way to promote a product and is fun for consumers. I don’t think people will ever get sick of viral marketing.

Do what you love...

“Take the work seriously, not yourself.”

Rift Fournier is a very cool guy. He has taken the idea of not taking yourself too seriously and lived his life accordingly. With all the success and achievements he has accomplished it is hard to argue against his philosophy. He worked in almost every realm of the entertainment business and has plenty of stories and names to drop. Although with Rift, it does not come off as arrogant. The guy has lived an extraordinary life is still extremely genuine.

It was not his stories that impressed me the most though, it was his attitude and encouragement. He takes a genuine interest in the well being of the students and encouraged us all to pursue careers that “make your heart pump.” He compared work to dying and said that we have to care about what we are dying for, otherwise what is the point.

This is something that I struggled with coming out of high school. I attended a private college preparatory academy and graduated at the top of my class. My teachers and peers expected me to become a lawyer or mathematician, which I easily could have, but I just was not passionate about either. I wanted to be a musician or artist. I was undecided my first year and a half of school because I felt like doing what I actually wanted to do would not be good enough.

Now I am pursuing what I love and I feel really confident about it. I may not make as much money, but I would rather be happy and do something I am really passionate about. Not everyone is as excited as I am. My high school principal was so disappointed when I told her what career I was pursuing, but I like to think I will show her and others that I will succeed because of my passion.

Rift Fournier is living proof that a person can do what they love and work their way on to success and happiness. It isn’t always easy, but when you look back at the end of the day, you can be proud of the work you’ve done and be excited for tomorrow. That’s the way Rift sees it, and I hope I will too.

The times, they are a changin'...

Gary Vaynerchuk is quite an interesting character. Once you get past his abrasive, in-your-face style of talking and get to the heart of what he is actually saying, it is quite interesting and very true. He is all about promoting social media or as he calls it “business”.

Gary Vaynerchuk is known as the “social media sommelier” and for good reason. He has obviously taken the idea of using social media as an outlet for a company’s branding and run with it. He used social media to further his wine business and has become a sort of guru on the process.

“Everybody has the ability to play the piano, but not everyone is Billy Joel.”

He used the outlets of facebook and twitter to promote his company, but he says there has to be more than that. He produced a webcast about his wine and promoted that on the internet. He feels like the times are changing and the best way for a business to reach its consumers is to connect with them through social media. He even gives the idea of watching a person at McDonalds make your burger on your iPhone. That would be so crazy, but really cool. The ideas of reaching out to consumers have to be innovative and creative. Having a facebook page alone will not cut it.

According to Gary, having everything out in the open through social media promotes truth. This is obviously a big plus for consumers. In this day of age if companies are not being honest, it is not long before a YouTube video is up and the company’s popularity starts falling.

It is not just companies that need to utilize social media for success, but people looking for jobs are also using the new mediums to get connected and network for potential job opportunities. One of the best ways to do this is through a site called Brazen Careerist.

The site was started by a woman named Penelope Trunk who also blogs about careers and networking. Her goal was to create a place where people could get information about jobs, links to what is happening in a field and most importantly a place where companies could find tech-savvy, motivated careerists to hire.

Trunk encourages bold careerists who are sick of waiting to climb the corporate ladder to join the community on her site and meet others who can potentially work with them to make their own path in the business world.

The blogs on the site have very useful information that challenge the conventional way of doing business. They are open and honest and right in with the way things are changing.
This article certainly made me question a few things I had been taught about school and work. People on Brazen Careerist understand that the way things used to be done, won’t cut it anymore.



Branding and social media are the future of careerists. Trunk and Vaynerchuk know this, but how long will it take the rest of the world to catch on?

Social Media is an amazing phenomenon that over the course of about three years has completely changed the way I relate to the people I know, and even some I do not. Social media is basically the name for the ways of communicating with each other through the powerful media that is the internet. We do this through sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, Flickr, Digg, World of Warcraft, Yahoo! Answers, Blogger and so many more. The way that we give and receive information has completely changed all thanks to the amazing invention of social media.

My grandmother was lamenting to me earlier this week about how terrible it is that people do not send letters anymore. In her eyes, there is nothing more fulfilling than receiving a hand written personal letter. I felt it best not to tell her that I haven’t checked my school mailbox at all this semester, but I check my Facebook inbox at least three of four times a day. She was disappointed that I texted while in her presence. “Whatever happened to actual conversations? The good ole’ days when life was slow and you could stop and take the time to talk to someone?”

I will tell you what happened, Grandma- Social Media. With the invention of social media, we can now send messages to each other instantly. Why would I wait to get a letter in the mail, when I could get one right away? The amazing thing is that in addition to messages we can now do so much more than that! I can share pictures through Photobucket, listen to people’s music on YouTube, and get (mostly correct) answers to my questions from actual people on Wikipedia or Yahoo! Answers.

When I think about it, I actually base so much of my life around social media, and it all happened over time without me even realizing what I was doing. I started with a LiveJournal because one of my friends had one. Then I got a Xanga then MySpace and now Facebook and Twitter. I went from writing one or two entries a month about random topics on an internet journal to holding deep and meaningful conversations through my Facebook page.

I share pictures with my family on Photobucket. I learn how to play songs on piano by watching free lessons on YouTube. I get the answer about what episode of Scrubs a certain song was played in from Wikipedia. So much of the information I share and receive is through social media. The only avenue of social media I have not explored is the virtual reality communities like World of Warcraft or Second Life. Sadly, I do not feel like I will be investigating those any time soon.

Social Media is definitely the wave of the future. It is how we relate to each other now, and I definitely only see it getting bigger. Companies are reaching buyers through new technologies like viral videos or promotions on blogs. Ordinary people are becoming famous without powerful producers. It has changed our communication, our culture, and our lives. I think this is great… but I still have to convince Grandma.

Reading the article about Generation Diva made me really sad. I mean I have seen everything they talk about in the article on TV and in real life, but thinking about it makes me really hurt for the future generation of girls.

Young girls should be playing with dolls and having little tea parties. The idea of toddlers concerned with fixing her hair and putting on makeup is heart breaking. They lose their innocence at such a young age and grow up way too fast.

The most concerning part of the article for me was the fact that so many girls said their biggest fear was of getting fat. Primping yourself at such a young age is sad, but not necessarily dangerous to the girl’s health. Girls thinking that they have to be super skinny at such a young age could cause major health concerns both mentally and physically though. I did not even think about being fat or skinny until high school when a boy grabbed my side and called me squishy.

For me personally, I was not a member of “Generation Diva”. I started wearing makeup and caring about the way my clothes and hair looked at a pretty normal age (around middle school). When I was a toddler through elementary school, I was much more concerned with dressing up a Barbie than dressing up myself.

I think I was not a part of this movement for a number of reasons. The media was not as prevalent a force in my life as it is for young girls today. The internet opens up a world of images and ideas that girls, even very young ones, are influenced by. Another big reason is parenting. My parents did not allow me to wear makeup, get my ears pierced, or shave my legs until I was an appropriate age. Even though I sometimes complained, I appreciate it now. I had no reason to be concerned with my appearance as a child.

Parents, like the ones on “Toddlers and Tiaras”, who push their children into being little beauty queens are plain horrible. Pushing their ideals of beauty on a baby is disgusting, and I do not think the media should glorify them by giving them a TV show. Watching even a little bit of a show like that breaks my heart. Girls should be allowed to stay young and innocent as long as possible. It is the parents’ responsibility to protect their children, not exploit them to live out some vicarious fantasy.



Ultimately, I do not see any slowing down of Generation Diva, especially with the role models these young girls have. Their biggest heroes are Disney channel princesses like Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hudgens. With the internet these girls Google their icons and see provocative images. These leaked photos were apparently sent to their respective boyfriends but released on the internet. This sends a message to the young girls that you will not get anywhere in life unless you are beautiful and flaunt your beauty for a man.



With messages like this being thrown at Generation Diva, we can look forward to a generation of very insecure, broken women who never had a real childhood, and that is the saddest part of all.

podcast...it's not a spaceship.

I have to admit that when I first read that our assignment was to blog about “podcasting” I was a little bit apprehensive. I’ve never downloaded a podcast and have never even looked into it. This is sad to admit as a musician, but I do not even own an mp3 player. Upon researching what a podcast is all about though, it seems pretty cool and is definitely something I want to use in the future. I was amazed to find out how much stuff is out there for the taking.

A podcast is basically a show (either audio or video) that is available for free download to your computer or iPod. Its name is derived by combining the words (i)Pod and (broad)cast. Because you can download the podcast, you don’t have to be connected to the internet to view whatever you want to watch. You can take it with you on your computer or iPod.



This technology is especially useful for people who want to broadcast their own radio show or put music or shows they have created out there for people to get a hold of. It makes it easier to gain a fan base or garner attention, instead of relying on production companies to back you for promotions. With podcasts, you can promote yourself without the industry telling you what to create. This is an exciting advancement for people wanting to express uncensored creativity and opinions.

It’s also exciting for people who love certain shows or music and want to take clips with them. You can subscribe to a certain podcast and whenever that podcast posts new material it will be downloaded for you, kind of like the way a DVR works. This is nice if you have something you are really interested in and would like to be continuously updated on it.

If I were to subscribe to a podcast, I think I would start with The Soup starring Joel McHale. Even though it is just clips of his TV show, which I watch religiously, I would still be interested in watching them over again or sharing them with friends (that is if I owned an iPod). Some other ones that I found that looked interesting were Dawson’s Creek reruns (when I feel like kickin’ it old school) and a podcast devoted to movie and music reviews.

I can see that this might be a problem if I get into this, because so much of my time is already devoted to keeping up with my favorite shows on DVR then reading the reviews of the shows on fan sites, watching YouTube weekly broadcasts, and keeping up with my social media outlets of course. This is just one more thing to add to my already technologically dependant life. That is part of the reason why I refuse to get an iPod or internet on my phone. I know I would lose all touch with the physical world around me if I had music and videos and at my disposal any moment I wanted to.

Maybe it’s time to jump on the bandwagon though because I have to admit, podcasts seem pretty awesome :)

Scavenger Hunt...

• Where is the job/internship located?

The job I am interested in is located at the news station KCTV in Kansas City, MO...only three hours away from home :)

• Who is the parent owner of the agency/station?

The station is a CBS station owned by the Meredith Corporation.

• What interests you about the job?

I really enjoy the graphic design aspect of multimedia and would love to work in a position that combines elements of journalism and design. Being a web managing editor, I could control both the content that is put on the site and the physical look of it.

• What can you be doing while a student at Lindenwood University to prepare for a career in your chosen industry and at this station or agency?

As a student I can continue learning design software to prepare for the graphic design elements of the job. I could submit work to be used in school promotions to develop a portfolio. I could also improve my writing skills through journalism classes and try to submit stories to the newspaper. Another good thing to do would be maintaining a blog and promoting it so other Lindenwood students would read it.

Let's be Honest...

Marketing to Gen Y is a lot more difficult than it has been in the past. This generation does not respond to advertising the same way as generations past and we get our media in different ways. The way companies advertise has to change to fit our new standard, or they will find themselves to be yesterday’s news.

One of the major changes in marketing to Gen Y is that we do not want to be lied to. We can tell when an ad is over the top and we do not appreciate something that tries to deceive. In order to market to Gen Y you have to be direct and honest. Gen Y feels like they can do whatever they imagine and they know a lot. You cannot belittle us by trying to make us buy into a false or misleading ad. We are too smart for that.

Another change is the way we get our marketing. Media for Gen Y is different from past generations. We watch less TV (especially less commercials thanks to DVR) and we read less printed material. We spend a lot of time on the internet, but pop-up ads are annoying and usually ineffective.

Many companies are straying from traditional advertising methods like TV commercials, print ads, and billboards and opting for more of a word of mouth technique to marketing. If a member of Gen Y hears first hand that some product is hip or cool, it seems honest and genuine. They are much more likely to tell their friends and pass the product along.

One company using this technique is Red Bull. They have a Red Bull truck that drives around places where Gen Y hangs out and pass out free cans of Red Bull. They associated themselves with the environment of Gen Y until eventually they just became a part of it. Now they are known as the cool energy drink company that gives away free stuff and does not BS you.

I think that is the most important thing. We are sick of used car commercial ads and companies that promise the world, but do not deliver. We just want to see the product in an honest light- no hype, no false build up.

So are companies changing to meet our new demands? I think it is still a discovery process. Marketers have figured out what we do not like, but the right way to reach us still is not completely perfected. One of the most annoying new trends in marketing is product placement in movies. There is a particular scene in the movie Talladega Nights where brands are all over the place and of course, we notice them.




Will Ferrell jokes about the products to let us know that they are not trying to trick us, but it is still just annoying. I would rather watch a 30-second commercial for Powerade than have it in the middle of a movie.

Ultimately, I think advertisers are moving in the right direction. It is not all that difficult. Say your product is environmentally friendly, promote a cool concert, and give away some freebies and with Gen Y you are golden.

Well I guess I'm off to Davy Jones' Locker...

Pirating is such a funny word to describe how people get music and movies illegally. It makes it sound like we are attacking the RIAA with cannons and taking their songs as our plunder. In reality, pirating is something done by almost everyone in Gen Y and there are no cannons involved…at least I hope not.

I first learned about pirating music in high school. When I got my own laptop I learned how to take music off CDs and rip them onto my computer. Then I expanded to ripping my friends CDs. Eventually we were all passing music around from laptops, jump drives, and iPods. It never really occurred to me that this was wrong.

If my friend buys a magazine or a movie, there is nothing wrong with me borrowing it. In the same way, if my friend buys music, can’t I listen to it too? I use this justification to make myself feel better about stealing music, which is essentially what I am doing.

It gets even worse when I take music from my very large network of friends on a little program called Limewire. It is just like sharing music with my buddy, except my buddy lives half-way across the world.

I really do think Limewire is wrong, yet I continue to use it. I guess I am just cheap and I use my justification of sharing with a friend to help me sleep at night. I also use the justifications of supporting music and spreading the word about artists, so they can gain more fans. Of course, I could support a band even more by paying for their music, but that would be crazy, right?

Actually, I do support my favorite artists by purchasing their CDs. There is just something about owning a physical copy of a record that illegal downloading just doesn’t capture. I like to read the thank-you’s and look at the liner pictures. However I must admit the amount of music I buy, compared to the amount of music I pirate is insignificant. In the past year, I have bought one CD.

So I cheat the music industry, but what I take from them I make up for in support of the movie industry. I buy so many movies it is ridiculous. I have never even tried to download a movie illegally.

Movies are more difficult to download because of the file size, and in most cases there is a loss in quality. I think movies are meant to be seen on a big screen with good quality sound and picture. It is not worth watching a movie if it is pixilated and dubbed incorrectly. In addition, you usually download a couple viruses along with the stolen movie (I guess it is more like pirates than I originally thought.)

Ultimately, I don’t think that pirating music or movies will stop until the authorities make us walk the plank…err pay fines or go to jail. Gen Y is used to getting what they want at their fingertips, and if they can get it free that’s all the more reason the pirate. ARRR! I feel like watching my legally owned copy of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” now…

A Re-touchy Subject

Photo-Retouching is a widely practiced and highly criticized movement in magazines and other print media. Hardly any publicized photo reaches the masses without at least a little retouching.

Photo-manipulation has had a rather interesting history dating way back to before computers were even imagined. I was very surprised to learn that some iconic photos were doctored including a portrait of Abraham Lincoln and Pulitzer Prize winning images. So is it wrong?

Now I probably should mention that I plan to be a graphic designer, so I probably do not have an entirely fair opinion on this issue. I think that playing around with photos to remove imperfections or create entirely different compositions is a lot of fun. I have to admit that just about every one of my facebook profile pictures is enhanced or perfected in some (usually very minor) way.

I started manipulating photos when I was in junior high and had a rather ridiculous obsession with a certain male singer (it’s too embarrassing to post his name). I would photoshop my head into pictures of him hugging another girl, print out the picture, and hang it in my room. It was rather sad, but introduced me to the world of photo-retouching and in my case total manipulation.

Photoshopping in this capacity is pretty harmless. Everyone knows I did not really meet the singer. In the same way I think that most photo-retouching is not really a problem. Fixing little things about a celebrity’s image does not bother me. I see real people everyday and I like to appreciate the beautiful people, even if it is not what they really look like.

I realize that this is a rather controversial opinion. Many say that the manipulation of women in magazines has led to a standard of beauty that is unrealistic and unattainable. This is especially damaging to impressionable young girls with low self-esteem.

I definitely see the argument, especially when looking at the process of photo-retouching seen below.



Manipulating someone to be completely unrecognizable from reality is definitely taking it to the extreme. I think it would go a long way, especially for girls, to put real women on billboards and magazine covers, but I still love to look at beautifully perfected images every now and then too.

Ultimately, I think it is about doing retouching in small quantities. If a photoshopping job can enhance the aesthetics of a picture without completely changing the image, I think its fine.

On the flipside of the issue, an argument was recently made for photoshopping when an issue of Newsweek featured an un-altered image of Sarah Palin (remember her?) and her facial blemishes and upper lip hair. Newsweek claims they were emphasizing her platform of being a “real woman” but supporters of Palin argue that it is purposefully unflattering and embarrassing. Either way, it does not really matter now, unless of course everyone voted for Obama because they were scared of Palin’s moustache.

This incident just goes to show that photoshopping will continue to be a touchy subject in the media. In the meantime, I will continue editing photos and enhancing pictures…no more pictures me and Clay Aiken though, I promise. Wait…dangit!

Anyone who knows me well enough knows that my greatest vice is a little store called Target. To me it is like a high class Wal-Mart where everything is cuter, more stylish and still inexpensive. The people at General Mills must agree with me because they chose Target exclusively to premiere their retro-style cereal packaging.

According to AdAge.com’s article, General Mills is trying a month-long exclusive promotion with Target using nostalgic packaging for cereals like Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, and Trix. The promotion also includes a free t-shirt with a few proofs of purchase.

I think this is a great promotion. Doing something different to attract consumers attention is always a good idea. I know I noticed it right away when I was walking through the aisles of Target a few weeks ago.

Adults like it because it reminds them of their youth, and anything that can evoke a sense of nostalgia is a good selling point. It works with Gen Y too, because we are always looking for retro or vintage style. For all of our technological advancements and progress, I think Gen Y really relates with anything old-school. It brings a sense of comfort to know that some things will never change.

The article pointed out some negative aspects of the retro box covers. First off, it is obviously not directed at kids. Kids like flashy and fun designs to attract their attention and these boxes don’t really offer that. Another problem is that the more simplified designs might look too similar to the cheaper off-brands and confuse customers or make the boxes blend in with the other boxes in the cereal.

Ultimately, I do not think these are big concerns. Kids are going to eat Trix no matter what is on the box. In addition, parents are the ones buying the cereal so for the most part it does not really matter. As far as the packaging looking too similar to off-brands, once again the consumer is smart enough to know the difference, and they can tell the difference between Cheerios and Grainy-Os.

The throwback packaging is cool and a perfect fit for Target, so I say “job well done General Mills.”

Extra! Extra! Nobody's reading about it...

“Without newspapers what will we know?”

Guest speaker Bob Wigginton used this quote numerous times in his presentation on Friday to stress the importance of newspaper journalism. This is a man who is obviously very passionate about newspapers. After an hour of hearing what he has to say about the future of the newspaper industry, it is easy to see why.

According to Wigginton, the forecast for newspapers is bleak. With six-thousand journalists laid off at major newspapers within the last two years and more layoffs likely to come, the future of journalism is certainly questionable.

So what’s the difference? Why does it matter if newspapers go under?

Well, like Wigginton said, “without newspapers what will we know?” According to him, newspaper journalists are the source of most, if not all, of the news we receive through the various media outlets. Without newspapers we might not get an unbiased perspective on politicians and government actions. There may be no investigative reports to uncover corruption or crimes.

Newspapers have shown through their history that they can certainly make a difference. Wigginton gave examples of journalists uncovering the Watergate scandal with President Nixon and Clinton’s shipping prisoners to other countries for torture. Without investigative newspaper reporters, would we have ever found out about these scandals? Probably not.

So where does that leave newspapers? With all the cutbacks right now, newspapers are moving to backpack journalism where the reporter must also control any video and audio aspects of reporting. This makes it difficult for the reporter to focus on the story and the important issues.

This is not the only change expected in the newspaper business. With fewer and fewer people reading the physical paper news it is likely that newspapers will move to be solely online. Some see this as a scary change or a bad thing, but it’s obvious that the whole world is moving in that direction. I really don’t see the difference between news in a paper and news online. It’s easier to get a hold of and environmentally friendly to read news on the internet.



Wigginton summed it up best when he said, “Journalism will never die, we will continue to seek information it will probably just change form.”

“Take a day off classes, but not off learning.”



I have to admit, I mockingly said that phrase all day on Wednesday. You have to concede the slogan of Lindenwood’s first Sibley Day is a little corny, but the day itself actually turned out to be really well received. I might have even learned a thing or two.

The first thing I learned is that when Lindenwood gives you a “day off classes,” they find out exactly what your schedule is and make your four hour night class the exception. All bitterness aside though, I think it was a nice thing for the Lindenwood higher ups to do for the students and faculty.

Sibley Day had many opportunities for students with different interests to explore fields they may have never looked into before. I had many intentions of going to different lectures that interested me. I really wanted to check out the fashion, songwriting, and pilates sessions but unfortunately the beautiful weather, mixed with the happy attitude of the day kept me from attending.

Luckily for me, there was an exhibit going on outside. The art department built an arch outside of Roemer in the quad. When I arrived (with my piece of trash to donate), it was already almost complete, and a large crowd of workers and spectators filled the area. My friend Fernando was even there filming a spot for LUTV about the event.

The arch was constructed out of recycled materials and people’s old junk. It embodies social messages of environmentalism, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and “if we build it they will come” (well maybe not that one so much, but it did get a pretty large crowd).

Being artistically challenged, I decided that I was best suited for the role of spectator. I watched as my friend Gary built a little man out of a bottle and cigarette pack, and my friend Sean screwed in pipes to the frame. I think they did a much better job than I ever could. The arch looks really cool and modern against the backdrop of the two-hundred year old brick buildings. I just wish I could have been there to see the cool guy whip out a condom and add it to the sculpture. I guess he thought it would get more use out there…

Well if Anderson Cooper says it's ok...

"I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University." -Bill Buckley

Citizen journalism is an interesting and, at times, controversial concept. It's rather simple, by nature as it means citizens capturing and reporting news on their own. No frills, no expensive equipment, no editors. Just Joe Blow whipping out his iPhone when something newsworthy happens.

Citizen journalism really took off with the onset of "new media." With easily accessible recording devices and simple to use sites on the internet, capturing and sharing news became something everyone could do. Citizen journalists have sprung up all over the world and are quickly growing in numbers. They come in all shapes and sizes and report their news through a variety of outlets.

Where is Citizen Journalism?

Citizen journalists use many outlets to publish the news they find. Millions of people have blogs that they share news and opinions on. Others upload home videos of events or interviews onto sites like YouTube. Citizens can also upload reference material onto sites like Wikipedia and share information with the world.

One major outlet for citizen journalists is Twitter. With the ability to make news blurbs instantly Twitter has been seen recently as a place to find breaking news straight from the source. A recent example of this is the plane crash in the Hudson river. Before any news outlets heard about the story, it was already uploaded on Twitter by an onlooker and being spread around the internet.

Can I believe it?

Naturally many people, especially formal news outlets, find citizen journalism controversial. While some can say that citizens offer an unbiased, unfiltered opinion of the events and people around them, many would argue that news from untrained amateurs is unreliable and potentially not factual. I think that with any from of news we should always double check the facts and consider the source. Just like I would question MSNBC’s take on the Republican National Convention, I would be skeptical about my neighbor’s blog on the war in Iraq.

I think that for some things citizen journalism is appropriate. News photos shot from camera phones or an amateur poll about new movies coming out would be perfectly acceptable. If I want an explanation of the new stimulus package or the state of affairs in China, I would feel more comfortable hearing it from a venerable news outlet though. I think that citizen journalists lack the proper training to accurately portray a news story of great importance. Not to say that citizens can’t voice their opinion, but I certainly wouldn’t take someone’s blog as the “end all say all” on an issue.



Even though it’s important to fact check and consider the source of news, I still think the citizen journalism is pretty cool. The idea of ordinary citizens sharing news instantly with people all over the globe is truly remarkable. Moreover, Anderson Cooper gives citizen journalism the thumbs up, and nothing is cooler than what Anderson Cooper deems as alright.

Marshall McLuhan is known today for his quote, “the medium is the message” and the term he coined to describe the unification of the world through electronic media, “global village.” He was a prophet, a media analyst, a philosopher, and a challenger. His ideas from thirty and forty years ago have come to pass and exceeded what he might have thought possible. Did we get his message though?

Well since “the medium is the message” the answer is probably, no. McLuhan wanted everyone to see the danger in electronic media and how it affected our minds on an individual level but also society as a whole. He saw the media shift from journalism and printed media to electronic media with the spread of telephones, radio, and television. With this shift came changes in the basic way of life.

People went from individualistic free thinkers who interpreted the written word based on their judgment, to consumers of a media feed. This is why he says “medium is the message.” We interpret the message based on how we receive it. When television shows us an image, we tend to believe it without question. If we were to read a message, however, we would be free to think about it and interpret it how we see fit. The message therefore is exactly as the medium allows it to be.

Since this message that McLuhan speaks about is now able to be sent around the world in a fraction of a second, thanks to electronic media, it has led to the formation of a “global village.” McLuhan coined this term as an allusion to the way people interacted in tribal times. Before the printing press was invented, people spread “the message” through word of mouth or readings in groups. There was always some kind of interpersonal interaction going on.

With the invention of the printing press, information came on an individual level. Anyone could get news and take it with them to read by themselves. Since electronic media has emerged, this idea has shifted. People are now, once again all connected. With radio, television, and especially now the internet information can be sent around the world in seconds. We are back to the primal connectivity of tribal cultures, and that has its negatives and positives.

Awareness of global issues and communication with people across the world leads to diversity and hopefully unity through common understanding of one another. This can be seen as a good thing about the “global village.” As McLuhan points out though, it can be dangerous to be so connected. When one medium controls the message it is very easy to believe what we hear without question. If control of that medium falls in the wrong hands it would be very easy to control the minds of everyone who follows the medium.

“Satan is a great electric engineer.” McLuhan said this to make his point about electric media’s danger. If the message is in the wrong hands, we can very easily be tricked. It is our job to be vigilant consumers of media and investigate everything we hear. We must use our brains and judge for ourselves how to interpret the message.

Phelps has a Potty Mouth

According to baba booey’s post on perezhilton.com, “there aren’t any heroes in this world.” Baba is referencing the recent fall from grace experienced by Olympian Michael Phelps. He was snapped at a party smoking what appears to be marijuana out of a bong. Some people are very upset at Phelps’s behavior, while others encourage his actions citing that at twenty-three, he is allowed to have a little fun.

Some people that do care very much are his multi-million dollar sponsors. After the Olympics, brands competed for Phelps’s endorsement and entered into huge sponsorships and expensive deals. Most notable are his deals with Kellogg and Subway. Kellogg dropped Phelps from his endorsement of Frosted Flakes cereal, but Subway has decided to keep Phelps on.

According to the article on AdAge.com, the decision was made on Friday to keep Phelps’ deal, but Subway did decide to remove him from the SubwayFreshBuzz website and to hold off on his campaign that was supposed to launch early this year. A representative for Subway said, “Like most Americans, and like Michael Phelps himself, we were disappointed in his behavior. Also like most Americans, we accept his apology.”

This story caught my attention because I love Subway (I usually eat there at least two or three times a week) and I support their decision to keep Michael Phelps. I think from an advertising point of view, it fits right in with their company’s principles. An endorsement from Phelps says, “Ya, I screwed up, just like we all do. You eat junk food and I smoke pot. We’re all human. Maybe we can both redeem ourselves by eating a little Subway.”

If anything keeping him on makes Subway look like a forgiving, understanding place. Not to mention it’s free advertising with all the talk about Phelps’s contract in the media right now. I know after researching this article, I’m definitely craving a Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwich. This demonstrates the old advertising slogan that “any publicity is good publicity.”

I think most of Gen Y doesn’t care if Michael Phelps smokes pot. Most likely a good portion of the millennials have done it themselves. This story brings up the issue of the future of spokespersons. Will we be more forgiving than past generations? Just how far can someone go before we deem them unsuitable for representation of a product? I think SNL’s Seth Meyers sums it up beautifully in his Weekend Update segment, “Really?!”

What do you think?

I love learning about other countries especially learning first hand from the international students here at Lindenwood. For this particular blog, I interviewed my friend Fernando from Panama. He had many interesting things to say about Panamanian media and his opinion on American media.

He said that the most prevalent forms of media in Panama are television and the internet. Most people in Panama have a television and a computer. I thought it was interesting to learn that television is actually cheaper there than in America. He said that a cable subscription including extra channels like HBO only cost about twenty dollars a month.

The television stations in Panama show mostly American shows with Spanish subtitles because most Panamanians can speak English. Fernando said his favorite American made show that they play in Panama is “Lost”. He got really, really excited to talk about it too 

Most of the Panamanian produced shows are news and some soap operas. Fernando’s favorite Panamanian television show is one called “La Cascara”. It means “the banana peel” in Spanish and is a comedy show making fun of people, politicians, and events that take place in Panama.



Panama can air these types of shows because, like America, they have a free press. Their media is not completely controlled by the government, but is censored to some degree. Fernando said that shows like “A Shot at Love: with Tila Tequila” do not air in Panama because they are distasteful.

This is a bit of a contradiction though because in music and music videos, Fernando says that much of it objectifies women. According to him, the music is “all just girls shaking their butts in bikinis”. The particular style of music he is referring to is a Latin American style called reggaeton. He says that the artists are not particularly talented; it’s just like Spanish rap. He does not enjoy that style. He says that they do play the same top 40 hits that we listen to in America, but they have Spanish stations too.



I asked him if they read the same magazines as we do in America since they watch the same television and listen to the same music. He said that they have similar magazines in Panama, but they are Spanish versions. An example he gave of a popular magazine is one from Spain called “A S”. He also listed a magazine called “Vanidades” (Spanish for “Vanity”) as popular in Panamanian culture.

The Internet is the same way. People in Panama visit the same websites we do like YouTube, Google, and yahoo, but some have Spanish versions that are popular. Fernando’s favorite is ESPNdeportes.com, a sports website. He said that one thing that is very different in Latin American culture is that everyone uses MSN messenger there. According to him, people all over Latin America use MSN messenger on a daily basis and it is an integral form of communication, whereas here in America only some people use it.

Fernando wanted to make sure that everyone understands that even though he is from another country, he is not ignorant about American culture. He says it really bothers him when someone asks him if he’s every heard of a TV show called “Friends”. Of course, he has! He says we’d be surprised just how much other countries know about American media, and after our interview, I can’t argue with him.

Freedom of Press is one of our rights according to the Universal declaration of Human Rights:

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers"

Freedom of the Press is a big deal. I’m sure that’s why our founding fathers ensured that freedom by putting it in the First Amendment. They knew the history and the great importance of being allowed to publish and announce your opinion to whoever will listen.

According to author, Peter McWilliams freedom of press has shaped history and defined many important events. He breaks down a timeline going from the Egyptians Book of the Dead to the reporters uncovering the Watergate scandal. One of the most important uses of freedom of press is the spread of the Bible. McWilliams points out that for a long time it was hard to get a copy of a Bible unless you were very rich, until Gutenberg invented the printing press and made the Bible easily available. This act alone is most responsible for the Reformation and the fact that over thirty percent of the world’s population now claims to be a subject of Christianity. If the Bible were banned (which in some countries is the case) that statistic most likely would be substantially smaller.

McWilliams also credits freedom of the press for the very formation of the United States. He marks the publication of Tom Paine’s Common Sense as the catalyst for stirring up a rebellion that eventually led to the Revolutionary War. Who knows where would we be if Paine were not allowed to publish his thoughts?

Is the Press really Free?

Even though freedom of press is a protected right according to the Constitution, many would argue that it is not free enough. In the United States most of the press we read, hear, or see is censored in some way or another. It is passed through certain regulators that judge if the criteria is deemed acceptable for the public.

Now for the most part I really don’t mind censorship. I would prefer not to listen to profanity or see vulgar images because somebody wants to project them at me. I like censorship for the purpose of keeping the media clean.



Where I believe censorship fails is when it causes the media to be biased. This is especially the case in news journalism. It bothers me when somebody goes through a news story and only pulls out the one side they want the audience to hear. I think censoring for purposes of pushing an agenda is a misuse of power and unfair to the media consumers.

Overall I think freedom of the press is a great thing. It has caused revolutions and shaped the history of the world. Without freedom of press we would be living in a very different environment. It’s a very important freedom, that we should never take for granted. Hopefully one day all countries of the world will get to enjoy this freedom like we do in America.

Am I a millennial? Yes and no. I am a graphic design major so I guess I am pretty technologically savvy. I do not think that means that I fall under all of the stereotypes that go with being a millennial. I use my cell phone an average of thirty minutes a day and send about ten or fifteen text messages per day. It annoys me when people my age are constantly talking on cell phones or texting people all the time. I think that when people are always on cell phones or plug their ears with iPods they miss out on everything going on around them. They become very self-involved and live in their own little universe. This makes everyone around them feel uncomfortable especially if they need to get their attention. Where I am most like a typical millennial is probably my use of social networking sites, especially facebook. I check it at least once a day and can spend way too much time “creeping” on my friends when I am bored.
I agree with some of the assumptions about millennials. Many of my friends exhibit the assumption that millennials are conditioned to believe that they are special and can excel at anything. I never played in any sports where “everyone wins” but I know plenty of people who were. I also know many people my age who still live at home with their parents and have never had a job in their life. This really bothers me. I know one person in particular who does not pay for anything on her own, has never worked a real job, and is not paying for school. She thinks that she is entitled to whatever she wants and she truly believes that she is going to be a huge movie star/ singer/ model. I just cannot relate to that at all. I have worked hard for everything I have in my life and I know that when I get out of college I will have to work hard to rise to the top of my field and everything won’t be handed to me. I definitely agree with the assumption that millennials put family and friends before work, and I think that is a good thing. Work may pay the bills but the real value in life is in the relationships you cultivate with people.
If older generations want to communicate with the millennials I think the first step is becoming familiar with the technology we use. Even though I think it’s weird when middle-aged adults with families and a lot of responsibilities send me “My Christmas Tree” requests on facebook, I still appreciate them trying to stay current. Our lives are centered around social networking and instant communication so adults must adapt. I think employers will have to adjust and become more like “team builders” and work around our schedules, but I hope they don’t change too much. Lazy, self-involved people get on my nerves and I do not think changing the job market to meet their needs will do anyone any good.

Hello!

My name is Julie T. and I am a sophomore at Lindenwood University. I am studying Multimedia Design Communication and hope to specialize in graphic art. I also enjoy music, television and movies.

My favorite televison show is the Office. It's a very awkard comedy that makes me laugh out loud every episode. Here is a link to some of the show's funniest quotes.

Here's a little clip that highlights some funny moments.



Tune in Thursdays at 8 on NBC to see more moments like these.